Overview
- A video of a recent interview in which Kylian Mbappé said a meme that placed his face on a “Chinese dictator” made him laugh went viral and provoked strong backlash in China.
- On Tuesday, Oct. 27, Mbappé issued a multilingual public apology saying his remark was "desacertado," that he regretted hurting people in China and that he was sincerely sorry.
- Chinese firms Dongpeng, Mengniu and Milkground publicly announced they had terminated their commercial deals with Mbappé, and Chinese platforms moved to restrict or remove content related to him.
- Reports citing The Paper said state broadcaster CCTV suspended retransmissions of LaLiga and removed Mbappé-related ads and videos, and LaLiga publicly distanced itself from the player and apologized to Chinese fans.
- The episode highlights how a single offhand comment can trigger rapid commercial fallout in China and leaves open questions about the duration of broadcast suspensions and the wider financial impact on Mbappé, Real Madrid and LaLiga.